Sunday, 18 December 2011 10:46
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Author: Ian Brodie
Prince Albert joins Christmas swimmers
The annual Christmas Swim took place this morning at Larvotto Beach, with Prince Albert one of the enthusiastic and very brave participants. About 100 people took to the water (about 11 degrees) in aid of a charity providing schooling to victims of the Thai tsunami. The temperature out of the water was a modest 10 degrees. Most participants were in the water for 10 minutes or more, while supporters and families cheered them on from the beach. PHOTO: Prince Albert regains dry ground at the annual Christmas Swim. SEE VIDEO FEATURES (left hand column), also second photo in GALLERY PAGES
Wednesday, 30 November 2011 8:50
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Author: Rhys Hughes
Tsunami charity to benefit from Xmas swim
A Christmas swim is being organised in Monaco for the seventh consecutive year, visitmonaco.com reports. This year it will take place on Sunday December 18 at the Larvotto beach, at 9:30. The event is organised jointly by the EcoleBleue, the Academy of the Sea and the FouléesRoquebrunoises running club. A raffle will be held in aid of the TATSA charity, which is involved in reconstruction work after the tsunami in Thailand. More info: www.ecolebleue-monaco.com PHOTO: Last year's Xmas Swim
It is a truth universally acknowledged there is nothing like yoga.
I can see your eyebrows raised and hear your arguments against that statement, but hang on. I mean, read on.
I will explain.
When I was 10, I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a nasty accident which I miraculously survived left me paralysed for some time. Months later I learned to walk again, but the pain of doing so never really left me.
It is interesting that while many of the longest-living populations in the world have daily exercise routines generating vital energy, such as yoga, incorporated in their lives from early childhood, many practitioners in the western world discovered yoga after they had an injury or a simple back pain that conventional medicine would try to remedy by surgery.
Pascal Beauvillain was 34 when he fell from the rooftop while repairing a building. After nine months of pain and advice from doctors to undergo surgery for a herniated disc in his lower back, he started to practice Bikram yoga in Florida in 1996. To his surprise he felt better after just two weeks. Within a couple of months, the hernia was gone, and Pascal was totally pain-free and healed.
In 1997 he attended Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in LA and was the first Frenchman to get a certificate. After years of teaching all over America and further studying in India, Pascal returned to France and earlier this year he opened the very first Bikram yoga studio at the Port Palace Hotel in Monaco.
All Bikram yoga classes run for 90 minutes and consist of the same 26 postures and two breathing exercises. Ideally it is practiced in a room heated up to 40.6 degrees Celsius with humidity of 40 percent.
Yoga practiced in such a hot environment has enormous benefits, as classical Hatha yoga, Bikram yoga enhances strength, increases flexibility, improves posture and supports clarity of mind. Added benefits of Bikram yoga are weight loss, detox and a super quick fix for many injuries. That's why it is the choice of many sportsman, such as Andy Murray or David Beckham, just to mention two.
I am a great fan of yoga, because it helps me to live a pain-free life. Indeed, when I take a break, as I did after I moved to the area from England, I almost started limping again. I was not familiar with Bikram Yoga when I first visited The Port Palace Hotel studio, I didn't bring a big enough water bottle to start with but Pascal's passion for yoga was very addictive and the benefits almost immediate. I was reassured to hear that the first session is as hard as it gets, and it gets easier each time, providing one does it on a regular basis. The best way is to get ten lessons booked for every day and then continue two to three times every week.
26 postures are great and easy for the beginners, but challenging enough for the experienced practitioners. The biggest challenge for me was the heat and humidity, especially the first time it was a real struggle. Excessive sweating may result in dehydration, but Pascal is careful to remind you to take a sip very often... Asking around after the class, all attendees were regulars and completely addicted to it.
The studio provides shower rooms with plenty of towels, so you can schedule lunch straight after the class, fresh, rejuvenated and thirsty... For Bikram yoga at the Port Palace Hotel a couple of classes a week have now grown to several classes every day. The small studio can take up to seven people, so it is only a matter of time before Pascal will have to look for much bigger space....if you know about something available, give him a call...
Hotel Port Palace, Avenue John Kennedy, 98000 Monaco. pascalouyoga@yahoo.com, +377 6 02 15 58 57, www.portpalace.com
